Yamaha Bass Guitar

Fretless Bass Guitar

What are fretless bass guitars?
Should you get one?

What is a Fretless Bass Guitar?

Frets are the metal lines that divide the guitar necks, into many parts. These parts, when you put your left fingers on, becomes the notes you play. Think of it this way. Imagine a violin neck. Its neck will have a fretboard and a few strings on it. Notice that there are no frets (metal lines) across the fretboard. Therefore, you could play different kinds of notes, depending on where you press the strings along the fretboard.

Why You Should Play a Fretless Bass?

If you are highly skilled and would love to try a different twist, go ahead. You could easily get the nice blend between the B and C notes (which cannot be achieved in a normal fretted , for example. Famous guitarists like Jaco Pastorious (from Weather Report band) and Juan Alderete (The Mars Volta) too have their fair share of experience on guitars without frets.

Fender (guitar company) have some fretless models. One of it has agathis material for its body and neck. While its finger board is fretless, it has 2 octaves and a scale length of 18 inches. This totals up to the invisible 24 fret lines.